Review: There is a great deal of difficulty in starring and directing a film simultaneously, and its mostly taken for granted when watching masters like Clint Eastwood do it (a man who can go home with Oscar nominations for both). Jones has found a fairly good talent for directing, but his acting performance here is absolutely pathetic. George Briggs has no depth, no motivation and he goes from snivelling and pathetic to bluntly stand-offish to emotionally invested with nothing to explain it. Jones performance steers even more attention to the gaping holes in the plot, the countless unnecessary scenes and the dryness that the overall film portrays. However, The Homesman is not all bad. The film looks beautiful – reminiscent of other (far superior) films like There Will Be Blood. Hilary Swank gives another sensational performance in a role that no other actress could pull off. There are some wonderfully colourful acting performances and the films score fits the story perfectly. There are half a dozen scenes that equate to some of the best film Ive ever seen, every one thanks to Swank. But for every delightful scene, there are two that are barely adequate.